Compact floribunda rose plant named ‘POULac017’

ABSTRACT

A new compact floribunda rose plant which has abundant, light yellow to near white flowers and attractive foliage. The variety successfully propagates from softwood cuttings and is suitable for year round production in commercial glasshouses. This new and distinct variety has shown to be uniform and stable in the resulting generations from asexual propagation.

Botanical classification: Rosa hybrida.

Variety denomination: ‘POULac017’.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present discovery constitutes a new and distinct variety of acompact floribunda pot rose plant which was discovered in a cultivatedarea. The mutation resulted from ‘POULra015’, a miniature pot rosehybridized by the same inventors. ‘POULra015’ is described andillustrated in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 14,309, and applied for on Sep. 17,2002. The new rose variety resulted from a naturally occurring mutationof unknown causation on a branch of ‘POULra015’.

The rose plant of the present discovery has a unique combination ofcharacteristics which are outstanding in the new variety and whichdistinguish it from the original rose ‘POULra015’ as well as all othervarieties which we are aware of. For example, the new variety has:

1. Uniform and abundant near white to light yellow flowers with rosefragrance;

2. Vigorous and compact growth;

3. Year-round flowering under glasshouse conditions;

4. Suitability for production from softwood cuttings in pots;

5. Durable flowers and foliage which make a variety suitable fordistribution in the floral industry.

This combination of qualities is not present in previously availablecommercial cultivars of this type and distinguish ‘POULac017’ from allother varieties of which we are aware.

The resulting mutation was selected and evaluations were conducted onthe resulting rose plants in a controlled environment.

Asexual reproduction of ‘POULac017’ by cuttings and traditional buddingwas first done by L. Pernille and Mogens N. Olesen in their nursery inFredensborg, Denmark in 1999. This initial and other subsequentpropagations conducted in controlled environments have demonstrated thatthe characteristics of ‘POULac017’ are true to type and are transmittedfrom one generation to the next.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

The accompanying color illustration shows as true as is reasonablypossible to obtain in color photographs of this type, the typicalcharacteristics of the buds, flowers, leaves, and stems of ‘POULac017’.Specifically illustrated in FIG. 1:

FIG. 1.1; Opened flower;

FIG. 1.2; Flower bud, closed, partially open and ¼ open;

FIG. 1.3; Flower petals, detached;

FIG. 1.4; Sepals, receptacle, and pedicel;

FIG. 1.5; Juvenile leaves;

FIG. 1.6; Leaves.

FIG. 1.7; Bare stem.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE VARIETY

The following is a description of ‘POULac017’, as observed in its growthin glasshouses in, Burlington Ontario. Observed plants were grown for 10months in 15 cm pots. Color references are made using The RoyalHorticultural Society (London, England) Colour Chart, 1995, except wherecommon terms of color are used.

For a comparison, several physical characteristics of the rose variety‘POULgret’, a rose variety from the same inventors described andillustrated in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 10,729 and issued on Dec. 22, 1998,are compared to ‘POULac017’ in Chart 1.

CHART 1 ‘POULac017’ ‘POULgret’ Petal Color Outermost Petals: OutermostPetals: Open Flower Yellow Group 11D White 155B Petal Count 14 undernormal 25 to 28 under conditions. normal conditions. Petal Spot Noneobserved. Yellow Group 4C.

FLOWER AND FLOWER BUD

Blooming habit: Continuous.

Flower bud:

Size.—Upon opening, 22 mm in length from base of receptacle to end ofbud.

Bud form.—Broad based.

Bud color.—As sepals unfold, Yellow Group 8B; Yellow Group 9D at ¼opening.

Sepals.—Upper Surface: Green Group 146B to 145B. Lower Surface:Yellow-Green Group 146B. Anthocyanin: Medium amount. Greyed-Orange Group176A. Additional Observations: Strong foliaceous appendages on three ofthe five sepals. Surfaces of sepals slightly pubescent. Stipitate glandsare scant. Shape: Sepal apex is cirrose. Base is flat at union withreceptacle. Size: 35 mm long×5 mm wide.

Receptacle.—Surface: Smooth and glabrous. Shape: Funnel shaped. Size: 6mm (h)×8 mm (w). Color: Yellow-Green Group 144A. Anthocyanin: Noneobserved.

Peduncle.—Surface: Smooth and stipitate glands scant. Length: 75 mm to90 mm average length. Color: Yellow-Green Group 144A. Strength: Strong.

Borne.—Singularly.

Anthocyanin.—Strong.

Flower bloom:

Fragrance.—Moderate rose scent.

Duration.—The blooms have a duration on the plant of approximately 7 to10 days. Petals fall cleanly away from plant.

Size.—Medium for a 15 cm pot rose. Average flower diameter is 40 to 50mm when open. Average flower depth is 25 mm when open.

Form.—Deep Cup. Shape of flower when viewed from the side: Upon opening,upper part: Flat. Upon opening, lower part: Flattened convex. Openflower, upper part: Flat. Open flower, lower part: Flattened convex.

Petalage.—Semi double. Average range: 14 petals under normal conditionswith 3 petaloids.

Color:

Upon opening, petals.—Outermost petals: Outer Side: Yellow Group 8D,middle to marginal zone. Intonations of: Yellow Group 13C at basal zone.Inner Side: Yellow Group 8D, middle to marginal zone. Intonations of 8Cto 8A at basal zone. Innermost petals: Outer Side: Yellow Group 8C withintonations of Yellow-Orange Group 22B. Inner Side: Yellow Group 8C withintonations of 8A at basal zone.

Upon opening, basal petal spots.—No distinctive coloration at petal baseobserved.

After opening, petals.—Outermost petals: Outer Side: Yellow Group 11Dwith intonations of Yellow Group 8A at the basal zone. Inner Side:Yellow Group 11D with intonations of Yellow Group 8A at the basal zone.Innermost petals: Outer Side: Yellow Group 8D with intonations of Yellow8A at the basal zone. Inner Side: Yellow Group 8D with intonations ofYellow 8A at the basal zone.

After opening, basal petal spots.—No distinctive coloration at petalbase observed.

General tonality: On open flower Yellow Group 8D with intonations ofYellow-Orange Group 14D. No change in the general tonality at the end ofthe 10th day.

Petals:

Petal reflex.—Somewhat.

Petal edge.—Entire. Weak and undulations of margin.

Apex shape.—Round with point in center of margin.

Base shape.—Rounded.

Size.—Length 30 mm, width 52 mm.

Petaloids.—3 to 5. Petaloids are 25 mm long and 22 mm wide. PetaloidShape: Irregular. Petaloid Color: Upper surface: Yellow 8C to 8A. Lowersurface: Yellow 8C with intonations of Yellow-Orange Group 22B.

Thickness.—Average.

Arrangement.—Formal.

Reproductive organs:

Pistils.—Length: 6 mm long. Quantity: 68 actual count.

Pollen.—None observed.

Anthers.—Size: 2 mm long. Color: Yellow Group 13C. Quantity: 54 (actualcount.)

Filaments.—Color: Yellow Group 6C. Length: 4 to 5 mm.

Stigmas.—Superior in location to anthers. Color: Greyed-Yellow Group162D.

Styles.—Color: Greyed-Purple Group 58A.

Seed formation.—Hips not observed.

PLANT

Plant growth: Vigorous, compact, upright to bushy. When grown as a 15 cmpot plant, the average height of the plant itself is 27 cm and theaverage width is 18 cm.

Stems:

Color.—Young wood: Yellow-Green Group 146A to 146B. Older wood:Yellow-Green Group 146A to 146B.

Thorns.—Incidence: None observed.

Size.—Average length: 20 cm from flower to first branch. Stem diameteris 3 mm.

Internodal distance.—40 mm (average.)

Surface texture.—Young wood: Smooth. Older wood: Smooth.

Plant foliage: Typical number of leaflets on leaves in middle of thestem: 5 leaflets.

Compound leaf size.—106 mm (l)×73 mm (w).

Quantity.—Average, one leaf per each 4 cm of stem.

Color mature foliage.—Upper Leaf Surface: Yellow-Green Group 137A to146A. Lower Leaf Surface: Yellow-Green Group 146C.

Color juvenile foliage.—Upper Leaf Surface: Yellow-Green Group 152D.Lower Leaf Surface: Yellow-Green Group 152D.

Anthocyanin intonation.—Yes. Location: Juvenile leaves. Color:Greyed-Orange Group 176A.

Plant leaves and leaflets:

Stipules.—Size: 7 mm (l) by 2 mm (w). Presence of stipitate glands: Few.

Petiole.—Length: 23 mm. Width: 1 mm. Color: Yellow-Green Group 146C.Underneath: Thorns and few stipitate glands.

Rachis.—Length: 29 mm. Color: Yellow-Green Group 146C. Anthocyanin:None. Underneath: Thorns and few stipitate glands.

Leaflet.—Edge: Finely serrated. Shape: Ovate. Terminal Leaflet Size: 56mm long×29 mm wide. Vein Color: Yellow-Green Group 146C. Texture:Smooth. Thickness: Medium. Arrangement: Old pinnate. Venation:Reticulate. Leaf surface: Matte finish.

Disease resistance: Above average resistance to mildew, black spot, andBotrytis under normal growing conditions in Burlington, Canada.

We claim:
 1. A new and distinct variety of rose plant of the compactfloribunda class, substantially as herein illustrated and described as adistinct and novel rose variety due to its abundant, light yellow tonear white flowers, vigorous growth, compact habit, suitability forproduction from softwood cuttings in pots, and durable flowers andfoliage which make the variety suitable for distribution in the floralindustry.